Wood furniture stain

[loki073]

I've got a set of 80% finished wood furniture (IWD) for a FAL that I'd like to do a European oil finish on. I've browsed the forum, FALfiles, and a few other resources for information, but frankly, with all the opinions out there, I am at a loss as to where to begin!

If anyone here has any experience or opinions with oil staining on firearms, I would greatly appreciate it. Pics are welcome, of course!

Additionally, I am open to other finish ideas. I would really like an end result with deep coloration (rose?) that will bring out the grain in the wood, while providing deep protection against moisture.

Thanks,

-D

[encorehunter]

Tru Oil is the finish I prefer now. I have used furniture stain, but it was a lot more labor intensive. 2-3 coats of Tru-oil, or stain stock with furniture stain, light sand, more stain if you want darker, steel wool, clear coat, steel wool, clear coat, steel wool, clear coat.... Until you get the finish you want. I have a 10-22 stock I did with stain and sand about 15 years ago, and it still looks great. I don't have any Tru-oil projects that are that old yet. Both look great.

[Tim K]

At the risk of being labeled a heretic, I'll chime in.

First, coloring wood and applying a protective finish are two different steps. Sometimes a product is offered that does both simultaneously, but it rarely does a good job. Stain colors wood. Stains are either pigmented (thin paint), dye based, or a combination. Their only purpose is to add color, and the selection of a stain type will not affect durability of the finish. Go to a paint store, pick some colors you think are close, then mix them up till you get what you want. Or, just stick with the natural color of the wood.


Finishes or topcoats come in two basic types, oil based and film building. Oil based (wipe-on type) finishes offer little in the way of protection against anything including water. They are generally used on items that need little or no protection or that need to feel like wood to the touch. Film building finishes like lacquer or varnish can offer good protection against water, abrasion, chemical attack, etc, but the do so by creating a film that feels different from raw wood.

Assuming you want the feel of an oil based finish, you can just about pick anything you want. They all offer about the same level of protection (almost none), and the all yield about the same appearance. Don't fall for any of the hype about them absorbing into the wood and offering deep protection. Unless you put on a zillion coats, they don't.

One nice feature of oil based finishes is their easy repair. If you get a dry spot, you can always wipe on another coat. A chip in a film building finish is much harder to fix. I suspect the reason oil based finishes have been popular on firearms is that they are stupidly easy to apply compared to film building finishes.

[loki073]

Tru Oil is the finish I prefer now. I have used furniture stain, but it was a lot more labor intensive. 2-3 coats of Tru-oil, or stain stock with furniture stain, light sand, more stain if you want darker, steel wool, clear coat, steel wool, clear coat, steel wool, clear coat.... Until you get the finish you want. I have a 10-22 stock I did with stain and sand about 15 years ago, and it still looks great. I don't have any Tru-oil projects that are that old yet. Both look great.

Thanks! I will look into Tru Oil, for sure.

[loki073]

Assuming you want the feel of an oil based finish, you can just about pick anything you want. They all offer about the same level of protection (almost none), and the all yield about the same appearance. Don't fall for any of the hype about them absorbing into the wood and offering deep protection. Unless you put on a zillion coats, they don't.

Thanks for the no-nonsense input. I'll keep it in mind.

[spyder]

If you want a nice color, go with leather dye. It's not water based so if you use a rag to rub it in, it won't raise the grain which is really nice. Try it on a test piece, or the back of the stock first to see if you like the color. Where wood stains don't offer a decent color change, leather dye will work wonders. That is the only thing I will use from now on for any type of color. If you use tru-oil, mix it 50/50 with mineral spirits, then apply with a cloth that doesn't leave little thread things... You can get the thinner mixture deeper in the wood, if you're going for a deep finish, use that mixture and just keep rubbing it on till it doesn't soak in anymore. It literally took an hour for this to happen on my Mauser stock before the wood just wouldn't take any more of the mixture and it just sat on top. Then I waited for it to dry, and lightly sanded to a nice finish, and put three last coats on one at a time with a complete dry schedule. To be honest though, if you're good with an airbrush, get some poly and airbrush it on nice and even. However, leather dye, just try it. There are also dozens of colors to choose from. My next side double that I color case harden is going to have a deep blue stock to match the blue of the coloring.....

[spyder]

This is the AR stock that I am playing with... The picture of it outside is without tru-oil applied. The picture of it in the house is with the first coat of tru-oil and no cutback. I still need to do the sanding, and the final coats which may, or may not happen some time soon.....http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h403/asrspyder/DSCN4990_zps32f68a6d.jpghttp://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h403/asrspyder/DSCN4961_zps629b0e26.jpg